Never Hurt Remus Lupin
by Elixabeth James
Summary: Remus had ditched her, for what she did not know. All she knew was that she had been wronged, but had she? What she did not know was that Remus had a group of friends that would defend him no matter what. Or: The time James yelled at Lily


"I can't come tonight," he had said. It was coated with what sounded like an apologetic tone. However, it was a note! A piece of paper! Paper cannot properly convey emotion, unless one sent a howler. Remus was not the howler type, he found them far too crude. He found them loud and pushy. Why had he sent a letter? He could have come and told her! He was being a flake and she did not know why. He had not even sent a bloody explanation!

"I'd like to kick your arse," she found herself sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "That good for nothing-"

"On about Potter again, yeah?" Marlene asked, leaning against the doorway.

"No," Lily huffed. She stood from her chair, stuffing the good for nothing letter in her sock drawer. Random place, but she was beside herself in frustration.

"What's going on?" Dorcas asked, appearing suddenly in the doorway.

"Lily wants to kick Potter's arse." Marlene practically danced into the room, plopping herself on her bed.

"What's new about that?" Dorcas asked. The girls began to chatter about Potter of all people. Good for nothing Potter with his overdone and quite constant flirting.

"No, I don't." The girls looked towards Lily with confusion. "I don't want to kick Potter's arse… not at the moment at least."

"Then who?" Marlene asked.

"Is it Snape? If he did something I swear I'll-" Dorcas held her hands up in a motion that was as violent as she could be.

"No, it's not Severus." Lily sighed, seating herself down onto her bed. She felt the disappointment grow in her chest. She had wanted to hang out with remus, discuss newfound… feelings she had found herself growing towards the infamous Potter.

"What happened Lil?" Dorcas asked. Lily soon found herself wedged in between her two friends as they tried to comfort her.

"Remus ditched me," Lily sighed. She stood in order to retrieve the letter from its place in her sock drawer. Marlene and Dorcas eagerly snatched the paper before scanning its contents.

"He didn't seem like the type to me," Marlene commented. Dorcas nodded in agreement. Lily looked down at her feet. She felt the fire build up in her, she had to do something. She had to.

She did not see Remus for a couple of days, which was quite odd in her opinion. He was not the kind to miss class. _He wasn't the kind to ditch his friends either._ She saw him on Friday, walking through the portrait hole, arms full of books. She felt the fury that she had been burying grow to new heights.

"Remus John Lupin!" She found herself yelling. Remus looked terrified, she didn't care. She didn't care. You don't just ditch someone without a proper explanation and expect them to be okay with it. She wasn't okay with it.

"Yes?" He gulped, looking towards the fiery girl he found himself facing.

"How dare you! You made plans, we made plans! I had something to talk to you about! It was important! And then you just… flake! No explanation! Nothing! You just decide that you can't hang out with me! What happened? Do you think you're better than me? Do you? I cannot believe you! And you skip classes too! What am I to you? Something you must avoid like the plague? I thought we were friends." Lily's face was red, her fists were clenched. She had had enough of this.

"Lily," Remus began, taking a tentative step towards her.

"Don't Lily me. It's obvious. You don't want to be my friend. So… just stop it! I don't want to see you." Lily breathed slowly, trying to calm down, before turning and stepping towards the girl's staircase.

"I'm sorry," Remus whispered. He dragged himself towards his dorm, his muscles still sore from the transformation. He did this to her. He hurt her. He should have sucked it up and gone. Or something.

"Our brother has returned!" James cheered when Remus opened the door. Remus found himself facing his smiling friends, all seeming incredibly glad to see him… unlike Lily. The marauders were his best friends, but… Lily and him shared a different bond.

"I have," Remus sighed. He tried to keep a happy tone. He tried to blend in.

"What's wrong, mate?" Sirius asked. Remus felt a hand on his shoulder. They knew. Sure, Remus was always tired after a transformation, but he always seemed far happier than he was in this moment.

"It's… it's nothing." They immediately surrounded him.

"Remus John Fred Fiddlesticks Marie Lupin," Sirius started. "It is certainly not nothing!"

"Lily… went off on me." Remus sat down on his bed, looking up at all the surprised faces.

"Lily Evans?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded meekly.

"Why did she go off?" James asked.

"She loves you!" Peter added.

"Oi! Seriously Remus, are you sure she wasn't just venting about… something?" James asked.

"I'm sure, she went off on me because… I flaked." Remus was embarrased. It was his own, stupid fault.

"You? You flaked? That's not possible," Sirius sighed.

"Why did you? You have had a good reason," James asked.

"When were you supposed to hang out?" Peter asked.

"Wednesday," Remus answered. The surrounding marauders took in a sharp breath. Sirius shook his head.

"And she went off on you? That… witch." Sirius shook his head.

"She told me we couldn't be friends anymore. She doesn't want me. She knows how flawed I am. She doesn't want me." Remus was shaking now.

"You are not flawed! Shut it!" Sirius exclaimed. Peter wrapped his arms around Remus' shoulders.

"Evans… said that?" James asked. Remus nodded, not lifting his head.

"She's not perfect, James," Peter whispered.

"Bloody hell she's not! I'm going to go give her a piece of my mind, that's what!" James was marching towards the door.

"James!" Sirius shouted after him.

"You're not stopping me," James said. Sirius gave him a confused look.

"I certainly am not, I'm coming with you!" The two marched out the door, Peter following close behind. They found her on a chair next to the fire, reading a book of some sort. Lily looked up, meeting the eyes of James Potter.

She did not want to be flirted with at the moment. Potter was just… too much sometimes. Right now, she was trying to comprehend why Remus had flaked on her like that. Why had he ditched her? Why?

"Evans," Potter began.

"I'm not in the mood for this right now, Potter," she sighed. Turning her attention back to her book.

"No, you went off on Remus! Why the hell would you do that? He is in his bed, Lily. He is not reading, he is simply sitting and wallowing. All because someone told him he was not goo enough to be her friend. Because of… Wednesday? Of all days, you unfriend him because of Wednesday? Find a more valid reason!" James was livid. Completely and utterly livid.

"He ditched-"

"He was in the infirmary on Thursday!" James couldn't stand it. He couldn't. She had hurt his friend. She could reject him and hurt him all she wanted, but no way in hell was she hurting Remus.

"He-?"

"He can tell you about it himself if he finds it in his heart to forgive you. Apologize to him." With that, James walked back towards the boys staircase, leaving Lily behind.

No one could hurt his friends.


End file.
